Our review

In today’s competitive market, a credit card with an annual fee attached should do more than deliver just a convenient way to pay plus the opportunity to postpone payment for a few weeks without incurring interest charges. Fee-paying cardholders have every right to expect rewards points, a range of complimentary insurance policies, and perhaps the option to enjoy a zero-interest period on a transferred balance.

Secure, convenient shopping

Having a credit card is the smart way to shop, either online or in a bricks-and-mortar store. In the case of this card, online transactions, in fact all transactions, are monitored and protected by FRAUDSHIELD®. When presenting your card in person, you can move quickly through the checkout with Visa payWave for transactions under $100.

Up to 55 days on purchases

It pays to shop around and compare the interest-free days offered by competing credit cards. This Suncorp card delivers Up to 55 days on purchases on your purchases, putting it near the top of the range.

What it means is that a purchase made on the first day of the monthly statement cycle would remain free of any interest charges for Up to 55 days on purchases, while the same transaction made on the last day of the cycle would still not incur interest until more than three weeks later. So you get plenty of time to pay your purchase balance in full and avoid interest charges altogether.

Some cards come with only 44 interest-free days, meaning that you have to come up with your payment 11 days earlier, 12 times a year.

Satisfying rewards points – just for doing everyday spending

With a rewards card like this one, there’s no need to go out of your way to earn points: they just keep on arriving, month after month, whenever you use your card to make purchases. Better still, you get a choice. You can choose to earn Suncorp Rewards points or Qantas Frequent Flyer points. However, if you chose Qantas points you will be charged an extra $49 per year to link your card to the Qantas scheme.

Points earning rate

The earning rate is not complicated-1.25 pts per $1 spent

This is not the best points earning rate on the market, but it’s reasonable for the card’s annual fee. There are other Visa cards which allow you to earn 1.0 QFF points or up to 3 proprietary rewards program points per dollar, but inevitably there is a higher annual fee involved.

Redeeming Suncorp points

Like most rewards programs, Suncorp rewards has a variety of merchandise, gift card, travel and accommodation options. Here are just a few examples:

Flights, hotels, car rental and holiday packages: can be booked through the Travel Centre in exchange for points.

Redeeming Qantas points

It’s generally agreed that the most cost-effective way to redeem Qantas points is to exchange them for long-haul flights or seat upgrades. However, the prospect of having to accumulate 120,000 points for an economy return flight to Europe, for example, can be daunting. You could redeem much sooner by opting for an economy return flight between Sydney and Melbourne or Brisbane for 16,000 points ($32,000 of spending).

Qantas also has gift cards, merchandise and travel options similar to those offered by Suncorp Rewards. But a $25 retail gift card requires 4,040 points, or $8,080 of spending, compared with Suncorp Rewards’ $20 retail voucher for $3,040 of spending. So stick to flights if you choose Qantas points.

The full suite of complimentary insurance policies

Not all cards are created equal when it comes to their built-in insurance policies. Fortunately, this card has the full range that platinum cardholders generally look for:

Interstate flight inconvenience insurance: offering similar cover to the overseas policy but minus the emergency medical expenses. It does extend the rental vehicle insurance excess to interstate travel in Australia, a feature not found in most credit card policies of this type.

Transit accident insurance: compensating travellers if they are seriously injured in an accident on public transport.

Price guarantee cover: assuring you of a refund of the price difference if an item recently purchased in-store goes on sale less than 60 days later (minimum claim $75, maximum claim $500).

Insurance cover is activated by using the card to purchase the item to be covered. In the case of the travel policies, this means paying the full trip fare with the card or with Suncorp Rewards points.

0% p.a. interest on balance transfers for 18 months

There’s no stinting here, either. A 0% p.a. interest balance transfer for 18 months puts this card once again in the top section of the table. Bring your balances across from your existing cards, with no upfront balance transfer fee to pay, and save big time.

For example, if you transferred balances totalling $5,000 from a card with an interest rate of 20% p.a., you’d save a substantial $1,393. Even if your current card has a more reasonable interest rate, say 14% p.a., you’ll still save $936.

And there’s money to be made by anyone with a balance they can afford to repay right now. Transfer the balance to your new Suncorp card and leave the cash in the bank for 18 months instead, earning interest.

Ongoing interest rates are typical of credit cards

For a credit card which does not promote itself as ‘low rate’, the purchases interest rate (20.74% p.a.), cash advance interest rate (21.99% p.a.) and balance transfer revert interest rate (20.74% p.a.) are fairly standard of the higher end of the scale. The message is, don’t choose this card if you think you are likely to carry an unpaid purchases balance from month to month.

What else is not so good?

Suncorp are pretty keen on keeping cardholders within their approved credit limit, so they have slapped a $40 fee on credit limit transgressions. Plan ahead if possible, and apply for an increase well in advance of any expected limit blowout.

There’s also an unusually high overseas transaction fee of 3.4%, applied not only when using the card in other countries but also when shopping online at websites based overseas (even if they charge in Australian dollars). Most cards charge slightly less than this for overseas transactions (between 2% and 3%), while some have no charge at all.

The annual fee: substantial, but not unreasonable

Platinum cards come with platinum benefits and platinum fees. In this case you will be asked to pay $129 p.a. per year ($178 if you choose Qantas points), but at least there’s no extra charge for up to four supplementary cards on the account.

It’s not a small amount of money, but reasonably competitive for the benefits involved. You’d need to spend about $24,000 per year in order to recoup the cost of the annual fee in retail gift cards.

The Suncorp Platinum Credit Card could suit you

Think about your spending pattern and lifestyle choices before settling on a card that is the best fit. It could be this one:

if you intend to pay off your purchase balance every month, there’s no need to be concerned about the interest rates;

if you are likely to put more than $24,000 in purchases through the card every year, you’ll come out ahead in rewards value after covering the annual fee;

if you travel regularly, you’ll derive extensive benefit from the three travel insurance policies;

if you make retail purchases (and who doesn’t?) you’ll appreciate the three shopping-oriented insurance policies;

User reviews

4.6 out of 5.0 based on 4 reviews100% of reviewers would recommend this card

Rates and fees

Rewards

Customer service

Convenience

Trust

Reviews from users

Great option

Reviewed and recommended by Paul on 08 Aug 2013

The Suncorp Platinum credit card is a great option with friendly service when contact in the company and good access to rewards programs. The incorporation of the visa paywave function into the card as well makes it really convenient for those little purchases. The ability to link this to my current suncorp accounts makes keeping track of the balance really simple as well.

Higher interest rate, but everything you need

Reviewed and recommended by Kat Johns on 04 Sep 2014

We were offered our credit card as part of our mortgage package. We decided to take it up as we wanted our bank to be a one-stop-shop as we’re both very busy. The credit card has a terrific rewards program, however the default interest rate is quite high, although not the highest we’ve ever paid.

Would 100% recommend this card

Reviewed and recommended by Daniel on 25 Oct 2016

The Suncorp Clear Options Platinum card has a great value platinum level credit card with an amazing interest rate and fantastic customer service.

The rewards program also gives me a huge amount of points on a monthly basis, and with such a low annual fee. I would recommend this card to anyone.

Very good bank, very good service

Reviewed and recommended by Donna on 29 Sep 2016

I must admit that Suncorp have always been very good in relation to service for their credit cards. They are very prompt and keep an eye on transactions that may seem out of the normal buying pattern. Very good bank, very good service and overall the best credit card I have used.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed about credit cards are the reviewer's alone, and do not reflect the views of Credit Card Compare or the credit card issuer. Reviews have not been approved or otherwise endorsed by Credit Card Compare.

Cool stuff you can get with your points

Disclaimer: Does not include taxes, fees, or charges. Accurate as of 25th January 2016.

Rewards program basics

Reward points expiry‌

N/A

Rewards program‌

Suncorp Rewards or Qantas Frequent Flyer

Sign up bonus‌

N/A

Spend required for bonus points‌

N/A

Earning points with this card

Frequent flyer points‌

0.5 pts per $1 spent

Overseas earn rate‌

Same as standard earn rate

Points cap per month‌

8,000

Points cap per year‌

96,000

Points earned on ATO payments‌

0 pts per $1 spent

Reward points‌

1.25 pts per $1 spent

Additional benefits

Airport lounge access‌

N/A

Complimentary flight voucher‌

No

Concierge service‌

Yes

Benefits

This card comes with benefits worth an estimated $1,341

Shopping

Estimated value

Extended warranty

Valuation based on the assumption of making a $250 claim once every 5 years. There is no retail market for all-encompassing extended warranty insurance covering more than one item, so no premium saving.

$50

Guaranteed pricing / price protection insurance

Valuation based on the assumption of making a $100 claim once every 10 years. Extensive conditions apply. There is no retail market for this type of insurance, so no premium saving.

$10

Purchase protection

Valuation based on the assumption of making a $200 claim once every 5 years. There is no retail market for this type of insurance, so no premium saving.

$40

Travel

Interstate flight inconvenience insurance

Valuation based on similar domestic travel insurance policies available online that include interstate flight inconvenience.

$290

Overseas travel insurance

Valuation based on similar annual travel insurance policies available online for trips of up to 60 days.

$801

Transit accident insurance

Valuation based on similar global transit accident insurance policies available online.

$150

Total estimated value

$1,341

Annual fee

$129

Net customer value

$1,212

Disclaimer: Details of who, what, and where coverage applies to, as well as its duration and any coverage limitations will be listed in the credit card insurance product disclosure statement (PDS) on the card issuer's website. The names/labels of complimentary insurance products may differ from one issuer to another. Terms and conditions apply. Always check the insurance PDS when considering a financial product. Accurate as of 31st October 2015.

Minimum criteria for this card

What you need before applying

Be over 18 years old

You are a resident or citizen of Australia

Earn a regular income of more than $35,000 per year

Have a good credit history

You have your personal details ready to complete the online application

Disclaimer: The minimum criteria pointers are intended only to be a guide. Your application may still be rejected by the bank even if you can answer 'Yes' to all the minimum criteria. The final decision regarding your application is up to the bank.